The origin of the name is unclear. It appears in XV and XVI century chronicles as Moclinetum, Molinete, Moclinete, Mohinete or Molinillo. Some have wanted to link it to the Arab words “hins al muklin” which strangely means the two-eyed fortress..

Name of its inhabitants:

Moclinejenses.

Legend:

An important historical event took place in these lands some years before the conquest of Málaga. A Christian army of 2,700 horseman and 1,000 foot soldiers under Alonso Aguilar reached Moclinejo in March 1.483; immediately its inhabitants got their belongings and fled to safety in the caves and in the castle. When it did not find any booty in the town or the nearby farms, the enraged Christian army set fire to the farms and to the farmstead in Moclinejo.

The response from the Muslims after this ferocious action was instant; they left the castle and the caves and from the heights they threw many rocks and arrows which defeated the Christian army and forced it to flee, having sustained heavy losses. In memory of this huge defeat there is a ravine that even today is called Hoya de los Muertos (Valley of the Dead).